An insider's view of what is really happening in the Harris County Criminal Courts

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Bradford vs. Lykos - Pt. 1

I'm calling it Part 1, because we've got over six months until the November 8th election, and I highly doubt that this will be the only post on it.

For those of us who were active Kelly Siegler supporters (and still are, I might add), careful consideration now has to be made over who is the best candidate for District Attorney -- former HPD Chief C.O. Bradford or Pat "Snookems" Lykos.

Today, the Chroncile ran an editorial suggesting that this week's settlement of the the majority of the lawsuits was "Burying a Blunder", and Bradford's role in the raid "should and likely will be an issue in his November contest".

Um, okay, after the Chronicle's antics during the Republican primary, I hardly see them as being the appropriate entity to accuse anyone of "burying" something. Getting the Chronicle to run stories regarding Pat Lykos' behavior was like pulling teeth, and when they finally did do something, it only revealed about 50% of what was out there.

Now, don't get me wrong on this. Chief Bradford has definitely got some issues to address, and perhaps the settlement of the K-Mart civil cases will clear the runway for him to do so. Time will tell. However, one of the stories that the Chronicle ignored on their "expose" on Lykos was that she hasn't exactly been a champion of civil rights, herself.

One of the reasons that some political pundits have said that Lykos won the Republican Primary was because, sadly, she went negative, and Kelly didn't. Obviously, the lesson that we want to teach our children is that campaigns should be positive and not negative, but that isn't the reality.

Thus far, Bradford has refrained from going negative on Lykos.

He needs to.

Because we all know that she is going to be beating the DNA Crime Lab and K-Mart Raid drum for all to hear.

He needs to fight back, and he needs to make sure that people hear it. The Chronicle proved during the Republican Primary that it will more than gladly ignore stories that don't mesh well with their desired objectives.

And, Chief, if you need the Cliff's Notes version on Lykos, here it is. You just have to get a forum to hear it in.

"I realize a lot of people apparently do not like Lykos based on her performance as a judge, but there must be a good reason Ed Emmett and the Republican party leaders seem to be so solidly behind her."

I'm not sure if anon 6:35 is joking or simply naive but remember; this is politics. Lykos has been a loyal party member for decades, admittedly violating major tenants of the platform (in fairness, there have been many others doing likewise), but the GOP rewards loyalty above ability in EVERY case.

As documented here and elsewhere, including the Chronicle and now defunct Post, Lykos is a horrible choice for such a position. Her people skills are so lacking when it comes to employees that those who barely know her are known to shrug off her actions as "That's not the Pat I know". Sadly, her dismissal of various Constitutional concerns is of a similar vein and until you've seen her in action, reading about the accounts hardly touches upon just how bad she is.

Bradford, as the head of the local police department, is certainly not without his own troubles in these areas. My expertise as a bean counter as much as anything else tells me that he often tries to apply generic solutions to individual problems; much to the chagrin of those working for him. While he has never run for office, his job was largely political and he went with the wind in most cases, despite what his supporters will tell you.

City police officers will regale you with stories of how Bradford liked to discipline them using the "smoke=fire" approach and how ALL departmental discipline went through his office. That 75-85% of such discipline was reduced or overturned upon civil service hearings suggests that he also applied a "beat the rap but not the ride" philosophy that is inherently dangerous in a DA's office.

Those wise folks in the Controller's office (ahem) could also point out how precarious some of the financial projections coming out of his office were, universally assumed to come out of the "make the numbers fit" style of accounting that laymen find so appealing but end up causing problems. A quick search of the Chronicle archives shows how expensive the raises he advocated for his department ended up being; so expensive that the corollary pension costs nearly bankrupted the city, requiring the newly hired people to get drastically limited benefits.

The K-Mart raid was the brainchild of another fellow, a Captain that was fired for it, and the DNA lab problems started under Bradford's predecessor but got worse under his leadership; this also laid at the feet of a subordinate that was allowed to retire. In his defense, a weak defense to those effected, the vast majority of DNA results were duplicable and accurate but that does little to assuage anyone relying on said results to convict the guilty/free the innocent. DNA as evidence has been touted as the best thing since sliced bread but last I heard, HPD didn't even process most evidence since it was too expensive unless a suspect was already picked out.

In regards to the politics of the matter, the GOP will do ANYTHING in its power to keep a Democrat from assuming the office, including tolerating the antics of Lykos regardless of backlash. If the primary numbers were even close to what we can expect in November, it is Bradford's to lose.

Who's the best candidate:If you are an ADA that does your job with little fanfare, did NOT work on a political campaign of an opponent, and are not in the higher offices (Section Chief, etc.); either one will probably keep you employed. Bradford is friendlier to employees under most circumstances (mileage may vary) and he did push for hundreds of millions in raises for his employees in the past.

If you are a "by any means necessary" type that understands a little political manipulation is a tried and true function of such an office, Lykos will appeal more to you. Her markers will come in sooner or later from GOP officials wanting opponents investigated, minor campaign violations heavily pushed in certain circumstances, and other methods of pushing the thumb on the scale just enough to get some specific result accomplished. She will take losses on cases that make her "look bad" personally and ADA's best read between the lines of anything she says but keep in mind that this bodes ill for defense counsel as well (she does carry grudges for a long time and will make you pay for slights if she can).

Bradford will water down other aspects of the job to make those he considers too zealous tone it down a notch but mostly, he'll just put on a dog & pony show to cater to the media and public.

About Me

I practice criminal law and criminal law only. I've been involved in the criminal justice system since I was in college, and I've been practicing in Houston for over 18 years.
Most people never have to come down to the Harris County Criminal Justice Center unless they have jury duty. This blog is meant to give the Outsider an inside view.
These are just my opinions. The opinions of the Commenters are also just their opinions and I don't endorse them. But (within reason), I want everybody to be able to have a forum to say what they want to say.